No Need to Worry
by HotaruDragon
Summary: Ash and Paul battle. Ash loses. Paul calls him pathetic, and Dawn simply cannot take it anymore. Ikarishipping ONLY! XD There may be slight Penguinshipping, and such...no longer a oneshot...*sigh* more work for me....
1. No Need To Worry

**A/N: I can finally post this story after ages of thinking...I was inspired by the Ikarishipping, and I tried my best to write as if it was aired on TV, enjoy, but it's a oneshot...I would like to thank...** XxXTsukiakari HogoshaXxX **for forcing me to finish this, without her, I wouldn't be posting this today...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or form XD.........***Currently Blackmailing Satoshi Taijiri to gain rights to Pokemon*

* * *

No Need to Worry, Right?

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Electabuzz, Thunderbolt as well," commanded Ash's rival, Paul.

The two thunderbolts negated each other, causing damage to both Pokemon.

Dawn, who has been observing the battle since the beginning, said to Brock, "This battle has been going on for a really long time."

"It has, at this rate they're going to have to end it soon," Brock replied.

"Why?" Dawn asked as she picked up Piplup, who was getting tired.

"Because, from the looks of it, Pikachu and Electabuzz are exhausted. If they were to go on any longer…"

Ash had taken notice of what Brock was saying, and suggested, "Paul, why don't we end this battle with one final move."

Paul not really caring replied, "Whatever."

Ash smirked and said, "Pikachu, Volt Tackle."

Immediately, Pikachu began dashing towards Electabuzz at a great velocity with a powerful electrical charge.

Paul smirked back as he said, "Electabuzz, Thunder Punch."

Electabuzz had begun charging in Pikachu's direction with an arm waiting to unleash fierce electrical energy. The two forces collided and the two pokemon were pushed back. Pikachu and Electabuzz glared each other dead in the face. It looked like neither of them were going to fall, well that is, until Pikachu finally fell to the ground.

Electabuzz roared in triumph as Brock announced, "Pikachu is unable to battle, Electabuzz wins, and victory goes to Paul."

Paul scoffed as he commented, "Just as pathetic as ever."

Ash glared at him.

Dawn, sick of Paul calling them pathetic, yelled, "Well, at least Ash battled his hardest!"

"Yeah well, that's not working out for him, is it?" Paul replied back.

"You arrogant jerk! I so can't wait for the day Ash beats you in the Sinnoh League," Dawn said.

"What makes you so sure of that?" Paul asked.

Dawn remained silent due to the fact she couldn't answer that question.

"Obviously, he's not as good as you think, if he's never won at least one battle against me, Paul pointed out.

Dawn was about to say something else, when Ash said, "That's ok, Dawn. That's what trainin' is for. Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu replied as Brock was treating it.

"I know Ash, but…"

"Just listen to him and stay out of our business, kay?" Paul interrupted.

Dawn's anger had reached its boiling point. Brock, this time, was unable to hold her back, due to treating Pikachu. Dawn stormed up to Paul and raised her hand to slap him, but his reflexes were quicker, so he caught her hand. They glared darkly at each other. Before Paul could react, Team Rocket appeared out of nowhere, and like always, they recited their motto.

"Listen, is that a twerp's love quarrel I hear?"

"They're yelling to me loud and clear!"

"On the wind"

"Past the stars"

"In your ear"

"Bringing heart-shattering chaos at a breakneck pace"

"Fluttering hope putting fear in its place"

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet"

"When everything's worse, our work is complete"

"Jessie!"

"And it's James"

"Meowth, now that's a name"

"Putting those noisy do-gooders in their place"

"We're Team Rocket"

"In your face"

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime Mime!"

"Team Rocket!" Ash shouted. "What do you guys want?"

"Isn't it obvious by now? All we want from you is your Pikachu," Jessie replied.

"I second that emotion," James said.

"Motion carried," Meowth said pushing a button causing a cage to pop out and capture Pikachu and Electabuzz.

"Two for the price of one," Jessie squealed.

"Electabuzz, Thunder Punch on the cage!" Paul commanded.

It began doing so, but it had little effect.

"Nice try kid, but dis cage absorbs electricity." Meowth said.

"In that case," Ash said, about to bring out another pokeball.

"There's no need!" Paul snapped coldly.

Ash obviously reacting, replied," Ok, you don't hafta shout."

"Electabuzz, Thunder punch once more," Paul commanded.

Doing what it was told, Electabuzz did one after another, until the cage was overloaded with electrical power. It began to crackle with electricity. And caused a huge explosion. As usual, Team Rocket blasted off again, but this time so did Ash and the others.

Ash regained consciousness near a river. He spotted Brock right by him.

"Brock, you ok?"

"Yeah," he said.

"That's good."

"But, where's Dawn and Pikachu?" Brock asked.

A look of worry filled Ash's face.

"Pikachu! Dawn! Where are you?"Ash started shouting.

In reply he heard Piplup.

"It's Dawn's Piplup," Brock pointed out.

"Where's Dawn and Pikachu?" Ash asked it.

Piplup expressed a face of sadness, meaning either Pikachu or Dawn was nowhere to be found.

Dawn regained consciousness in a forest area where some mountains were visible.

"Where am I?" Dawn asked herself who was unfamiliar with the territory. "Ash, Brock you guys there?" she shouted.

She heard Pikachu.

"Pikachu! But, where's Ash and Brock?"

Ash and Brock had been calling out Dawn's/Pikachu's name and no luck finding them.

"I'm worried about Dawn and Pikachu. What if we don't find them?" Brock asked.

"We'll find them, no need to worry," Ash replied.

The bush nearby rustled.

"Pikachu?" Ash questioned.

An Electabuzz had emerged from the bush.

"It's Paul's Electabuzz," Brock pointed out yet again.

"Then where's Paul?" Ash asked.

Dawn and Pikachu were calling out Ash and Brock's names.

"Could you be any louder?" a voice called out.

Dawn turned to the side. Emerging out of a bush, was none other than Paul, who probably just regained consciousness.

Dawn glared at him and replied, "Yep." "Ash! Brock! Where ar...

Paul had covered her mouth. He quickly retracted his hand before Dawn tried to hit him.

"And again, you still have the nerve to try and hit me," Paul said.

"I can't stand you!" Dawn yelled.

"Well, neither can I!" he yelled back.

"And I can't stand your twerpy, little voices ringing in my ears," Jessie yelled apparently just recovering from the blast off, along with James and Meowth.

"Oh yeah? I can't stand how pathetic you three are!" Paul angrily retorted.

"What?!" Jessie replied. "We are not!"

"Yeah you are, from my guess, you clowns constantly try to steal pokemon, but you constantly fail each and every time.

Jessie's anger rapidly rose and she screamed, "Oh yeah, we'll show you!"

"Now you've done it," James and Meowth said.

Jessie had called out Seviper, and commanded it to attack with a series of Poison Sting. Dawn and Paul nearly dodged all of them. So as a result Dawn decided to bring out Buneary; Paul stopped her.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'll handle it," he said coldly.

They dodged a couple of more Poison Sting attacks, when Dawn asked, "When are you going to handle this?"

Paul remained silent.

"When are you going to bring out your pokemon?"

This time he mumbled.

"What?"

He flushed a barely noticeable red before muttering, "I sort of left the rest of pokemon besides Electabuzz back the Pokemon Center."

Dawn couldn't help but laugh.

Jessie also laughed saying, "Looks like the shoe is on the other foot kid. Seviper, Haze!"

A pale black mist filled the air, Dawn was nearby snickering.

"You're still laughing?" Paul asked.

"Yep, who's the pathetic one now?" Dawn said.

"You are, I can still use Pikachu," Paul replied.

"Hold on a second, what gives you the right to use Ash's pokemon?" Dawn asked obviously ticked off by Paul's comment.

"Nothing, except for the fact that you wouldn't be able to defeat creeps as pathetic as Team Rocket is all," Paul answered.

"Whatever. I so can't wait to tell Ash about this," Dawn stated.

"Yeah whatever, so, mind letting me use your boyfriend's Pikachu?" Paul asked as a few Poison Stings came forth, but missed.

"I do mind, but Ash is so not my boyfriend!" Dawn angrily answered.

"Yeah…riight…, I'm going to use Pikachu anyway. Pikachu, Volt…"

"I said no!" Dawn shouted.

She pushed Paul over and, losing her balance, fell on top of him. Dawn opened her eyes, and was shocked at the sight of her lips touching Paul's. She pulled back immediately, and got off of him. Traumatized, she stared at Paul, who stared back, just as shocked as Dawn was.

"Hello? Aren't you forgetting something?" Jessie yelled.

Before she command another attack, Jessie, her Seviper, James, and Meowth were hit with Pikachu's Volt Tackle, and was sent blasting off _again_.

Dawn, attempting to pretend nothing happened, went to Pikachu and said, "Great job, Pikachu! Now, why don't we try looking for Ash and Brock now?"

Dawn picked up Pikachu, and tried to leave as quickly as possible.

"Hey, Dawn," Paul called out.

Dawn stopped in her tracks.

'He remembers my name?' Dawn thought to herself.

She now had no choice but to turn around and face him.

"I finally get it," he said.

"Huh? Get what?" Dawn asked confused.

Paul smirked, causing Dawn to blush.

"Don't play dumb. You like me, don't you?"

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**A/N: CLIFFHANGER! or is it? If my goal of 20 reviews, is reached....****we'll see.....so....REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	2. Bittersweet Resolution

**Hey guys! It must've been ages since I've posted the first chapter. Im really sorry about how long this took, I thought I'd of had it done by the time the story did reach 20 reviews (it surpassed that and I thank you for it). Then after that I ended up losing the file due to disk cleanup, that was the worst day ever.....and now it's finally here, Chapter 2, hope you enjoy, and review!**

* * *

**Chapter 2 **

Dawn blushed, not because what Paul said is necessarily true, but due to her sudden realization of that thought.

"So, am I right?" Paul asked.

Dawn immediately came back into reality replying, "Don't flatter yourself, of course not!"

"Oh, then why are you blushing?" Paul sneered.

"It's so not because of you, this whole thing's just been…so…so."

Dawn paused at the thought. Paul came up behind her, and hugged her.

"This whole thing's been so, what?" he asked.

Dawn's heart began beating rapidly. She knew it, and Paul could feel it. As a result he smirked, yet again. Now, Paul couldn't help but laughing. She had embarrassed him earlier, now he would do the same.

He let go of her and said, "Your heart's beating a bit much for someone you don't like."

"You were way too close to me! Haven't you ever heard of personal space?" Dawn yelled at him.

"Nope," he replied walking away.

'He's such a jerk! I'm not going to let him get to me.'

Paul was now walking through the forest and was hoping to find a nearby Pokémon Center. As he was walking, he heard a twig snap.

"If you don't like me, why are you following me?" he asked.

"I don't know where I am. After all, you know what they say. "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," Dawn answered pathetically.

"Yeah, but that can't apply to our current situation," Paul responded nonchalantly.

"Well, you seem to know where you're going, so, I'm going to follow you. Besides, you need to get your Electabuzz back, right?"

"I guess, but what does your following me have to do with Electabuzz?"

"More than likely, it's with Ash and maybe Brock," Dawn answered.

"No, more than likely, you're crazy in love with me," Paul replied.

"I'm not! Since when do you even care whether or not I liked you in the first place?" Dawn asked angrily.

"Since, you kissed me a little while ago," he replied.

"That, was an accident! I would never kiss you of my own free will," Dawn stated.

"Sure," Paul said sarcastically before walking off again.

* * *

Ash sighed as he leaned back towards a tree. He and Brock had spent their time trying to find Pikachu and Dawn. To add more difficulty to their task Paul's Electabuzz had ended up with them, and it wasn't getting along with the other Pokémon. At first, it tried to run away, but Brock convinced it to stay with some Pokémon food. After deciding to stay, it kept picking a fight with Chimchar, hitting it with random Thunder Punches. Ash's train of thought was broken as Brock called out to him.

"Ash, dinner's ready," Brock said.

"Not hungry," Ash replied.

"Don't kid yourself, you're always hungry. We'll find Pikachu soon. If you're going to find him, you will need your strength," Brock told him.

"Fine," Ash muttered in defeat as he took the bowl of stew from Brock.

"What worries me right now, is what happened to Dawn," Brock said.

"She's probably with Pikachu," Ash said spooning a bowl of stew into his mouth.

"Probably, what about Paul?" Brock asked.

"Don't really care what happens to him," Ash said bitterly before receiving a surprise shock attack from Electabuzz for disrespecting his trainer.

Ash shot a glare at the Elecabuzz, which received a few chuckles from Brock.

We'll probably just have to wait until tomorrow then," Brock said.

* * *

Dawn and Paul had yet to have found a Pokémon Center although they've been walking for hours.

"Could we please stop and rest?" Dawn asked desperately.

"We aren't traveling together, you've been following me all this while, so why should I?" Paul replied slightly annoyed.

"Please," Dawn begged.

"Fine, stop and rest here _alone_, Paul said coldly before walking off.

"No, wait! Please don't leave me here alone," Dawn replied almost crying.

Paul stopped in his tracks, glared at her and asked, "Why should I ?"

"I hate being alone! Especially in the dark, in the middle of nowhere!" Dawn stated.

"And I hate weak, whiny, pathetic, loser girls like you! I'm leaving!" Paul yelled at her.

"Fine! Leave then!" Dawn yelled back.

"Ok, I will," Paul said leaving.

"Jerk," Dawn muttered as he left.

As Paul walked he felt a slight twinge of guilt for leaving the girl behind, but this was one of the many things that set him and Ash apart. He travels with no one. He stops and rests with no one. Besides she'd only slow him down. After walking a good distance, Paul finally stopped and rested against the trunk of a nearby tree.

~Meanwhile~

Dawn sat herself down with her back against the trunk of a tree.

'He actually left me.'

"Who could leave behind a pretty, innocent, defenseless girl like me? Right, Pikachu?" Dawn asked.

"Pika!" Pikachu responded.

"Only a cold, heartless, insensitive jerk, like Paul!" Dawn shouted out. "What's worse is that jerk stole my first kiss!"

In frustration, Dawn kicked her foot against the tree, but quickly regretted it as a swarm of groggy, yet fuming Beedrill came out the tree seeing who it is that disturbed their slumber.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to wake you!" Dawn said apologetically.

Dawn gulped as she spotted the glints in the eyes of many Beedrill.

Meanwhile~

Paul who just finally closed his eyes about to fall into deep slumber, shot open his eyes as he heard a loud shriek.

"Great," he said aloud.

After getting up from his comfortable position, he then spotted Dawn and Pikachu running from a swarm of Beedrill coming towards him.

"Why me?" Paul said as he sighed.

"Hi Paul! Mind taking care of that for me," Dawn quickly said before hiding behind him.

Paul angrily sighed and said, "Pikachu, Thunder."

Pikachu actually obeyed Paul and managed to scare off the Beedrill.

"Thank you!" Dawn said happily before receiving a dark glare from Paul. "What?"

"Can't you ever stay of trouble? And what's more pathetic is that Pikachu was with you and you were still helpless," Paul stated.

"Well, maybe if we had stopped and rested like I suggested, this could've been avoided," Dawn replied.

"I travel alone, got it?" Paul told her.

"Yeah, whatever. But in the meantime, we should at least stick together," Dawn suggested.

Paul glared at her at first, but he only gave a curt smirk when he replied, "You don't quit do you?"

"Nope," Dawn answered determinedly.

"You stay at least 5 feet away from me, got it?" Paul explained.

"Thank you!" Dawn said before hugging him impulsively.

Paul slightly blushed before quickly pushing the girl off him. He then walked away to another tree trunk and sat against it; it just happened to be approximately 5 feet away. Dawn gave a quick giggle before settling down at the tree Paul was previously at.

~Early Morning~

Dawn had been sleeping peacefully before she had felt someone slowly breathing close to her face. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Paul staring at her really closely.

"What are you doing?" Dawn said freaking out.

"I tried waking you up, but you're a really heavy sleeper. I thought maybe if I got close to your face—," Paul said before being interrupted.

"You'd kiss me right? Typical," Dawn said.

"Wrong, actually I was going to yell 'Wake up, troublesome.' really loud," Paul said.

"Well, you're very lucky you didn't," Dawn replied. "Besides, it's really early, why would even wake me up for?"

"You're right, that was waay too nice of me. Next time, I'll just abandon you," Paul said as he picked his things up and left.

"What?! Wait!" Dawn said following behind him quickly along with Pikachu. "Do you really travel this early?"

"Of course I do, it's the only way to get another town in a day," Paul answered.

"Oh, I see," Dawn said finally catching up with Paul.

The two continued to walk for quite some time, and the sun eventually rose. A question had been boiling inside Dawn's head at some point, and she couldn't wait to ask it anymore.

"Why do treat your pokemon the way you do?" Dawn asked out of the blue.

"You know, it was stupid of me to even think there was chance that we'd walk together in silence," Paul retorted. "Besides, what kind of question is that?"

"You know what I mean, you treat them harshly and coldly. You don't commend them if they do well, but yell at them if they don't do well," Dawn explained.

"You can't speak for my pokemon," Paul responded. "Besides, I'm not looking for approval."

"That's not even the point. I just want to know why," Dawn insisted.

"Look, it's really not any of your business, but if it'll get you to shut up for once…it's because I don't want to be like my brother, Reggie," Paul answered.

"He's so nice! Why wouldn't you want to be like him, in fact you could learn a thing or two from him," Dawn commented.

"You don't even know what you're talking about!" Paul shouted at her.

"I'm sorry," Dawn said quickly.

"You know…" Paul said unsure whether he should start up the conversation again, "Reggie quit being a Pokemon trainer."

"Really?" Dawn asked astonished.

"He collected all the badges from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, but his collection of Frontier symbols remained incomplete," Paul said.

"Frontier symbols?" Dawn said confused.

"You obtain them from Frontier Brains, leaders of their own specific battling facilities in the Battle Frontier. Before you ask, the Battle Frontier is a ring of battling facilities set up all over Kanto, in which they test your abilities in specific areas. Ability, spirit, knowledge, braveness, tactics, guts, and luck." Paul explained.

"So which symbol or symbols was Reggie missing?" Dawn asked.

"The Brave Symbol, from the Battle Pyramid. The Frontier Brain was Brandon, and as much as my brother tried to defeat him, he got defeated himself," Paul answered.

"Is that why he quit?" Dawn inquired.

"No. Brandon told him that he lacked a unique battle strategy, that's why he quit." Paul finished. "I think what he did was really pathetic, so that's why I believe Pokemon should be strong to begin with. But you wouldn't understand, after all you're only a coordinator."

"I do understand," Dawn defended. "Being a coordinator is not as easy as you think, it's hard enough trying to show off a pokemon's talent, but even harder to try and make it appealing to an audience."

"Well, I think it's a total waste of time. Besides, that's taking the easy way out," Paul said.

"Then, why don't you enter a contest if you think it's so easy, you big shot!" Dawn challenged Paul.

"Like I said, it's a total waste of time," Paul replied getting irritated.

"Hypocrite," Dawn muttered.

Paul would've retorted, but their very timely, if not enjoyable conversation managed to get Dawn to be quiet in the meantime. The two silently walked on until they finally reached a Pokemon Center.

* * *

**Wanted to write more, but decided that the rest would start off chapter 3, so that's it for now. Chapter 3 will be out soon (real soon, I mean it this time), so please Review and thank you! Mata ne!**

**P.S. OMG I almost forgot....I made a new AMV for PokeShipping, and I think I did a really good job....Could you watch it and comment on it on YouTube that would be most appreciated!! By the way, in the search box just put in Pokemon Lost Without You....you should see it, my username is PikaPrincess (I wish I could change it, I regret that name now....) Thanks!  
**


	3. Surprise, Surprise

**Hey everybody! It's been ages since my last update! Due to some recent reviews, I was forced to get this done as quickly as possible. My original plan was to fnish all the stories that I was working on thus far, but it was taking too long. Therefore, I decided to update the most popular story first. It's probably not my best, but Enjoy. **

* * *

**Chapter 3**

After Dawn and Paul had finally managed to reach a small town with a Pokemon Center, the two didn't talk much. There was no word on whether or not Ash and Brock had reached a Pokemon Center yet. In the meantime, they would stay at the center. Surprisingly, Paul agreed to share a double room at the center as long as Dawn stayed five feet away. Regardless of that, either of them usually had the room to themselves. Paul was the one occupying it now while Dawn took a walk outside. She thought about the lengthy conversation she and Paul had, even surprised they managed to hold such a long one.

'If he at least entered a contest, then he'd see what it is I have to go through all the time. Even so, I feel like I can understand him a lot better now. Who would've thought Reggie quit being a pokemon trainer, though.'

Just then a flock of girls came stampeding into the Pokemon Center.

"I wonder what all that is about?"

Dawn went back inside to investigate. She was shocked at the sight at about twenty girls trying to get past Nurse Joy and Chansey.

"What's going on?" Dawn asked someone.

"There's this trainer Paul. And all of those girls are his fans," a girl answered.

"Wow, that jerk actually has fans," Dawn said.

"Excuse me!" Nurse Joy shouted.

Chansey managed to push the bunch back a bit.

"You all cannot come in and disrupt the Center, nor disturb the trainers resting here. I need you all to please leave at once," Nurse Joy told the groupies.

All the girls left the center disappointed. Dawn stared at all of them leaving, and one girl in particular, one with dark brown hair and forest green eyes, glared at her. Dawn was taken aback, what did she do? Once all the girls left, Dawn decided to head back to her room.

Upon entering, Paul asked, "What was all that noise about?"

Dawn smirked, "Get this, that noise was your fan club."

"I have fans?" Paul asked uninterested.

"That's what I said," Dawn answered as she sat down and patted Pikachu. "But what was strange was this girl, she randomly glared at me."

"What did she look like?" Paul asked out of the blue.

"I don't really remember her face, but she had brown hair and green eyes," Dawn answered.

Paul's eye shot open before asking, "Brown hair and green eyes?"

"Yeah, why do ask?" Dawn replied.

"No reason in particular," Paul said to cover up his shock.

"Hey, Paul?" Dawn called out.

"What is it?" he asked obviously annoyed.

"About what we were saying earlier…"

"What about it? You gonna dictate some more to me about pokemon rights, and contest appeals?" Paul asked mockingly.

"No," Dawn answered honestly.

Paul looked at the girl, actually interested in what she was going to say.

"Although I don't agree with your methods in treating pokemon, at least you have a goal and you're trying your hardest to achieve it, and I think that's a good aspect of you," Dawn said slightly blushing.

"Yeah, whatever," Paul responded.

"You're such a jerk! I just gave you a compliment," Dawn said ticked off.

"So, nobody asked you to compliment me," Paul said.

Dawn just glared at him, left the room and slammed the door on her way out.

Pikachu and Paul winced at the sound of the door being slammed.

"Troublesome girl," he muttered whilst smirking.

~A few minutes later~

Dawn was frustrated with herself and Paul. She found herself exploring the town once more, in search of a place to vent.

'Why did I even tell him that? It's obvious he's completely anti-social,' Dawn argued in her head.

Unknowingly, Dawn was being spied upon from bushes far away.

"Summer, is that her?" a girl asked.

"Yes Tira," the girl named Summer answered. "She's the threat."

"Really? She's so homely, and her fashion sense is just plain horrible," another girl commented.

"Yes Karin, unfortunately," Summer replied.

"I can't believe Paul hangs around such a girl!" Karin exclaimed. "What are we going to do?"

"No worries, I'll just warn her to back off, and if she doesn't…well, she was warned," Summer said spitefully.

After cooling off a bit, Dawn entered a boutique shop that was having a 50% off sale.

Looking at a selection of bracelets, Dawn exclaimed, "These are so cute!"

"Aren't they though?" another girl called out.

Dawn looked over and saw the brown-haired, green-eyed girl from earlier.

Dawn reluctantly smiled and replied, "They sure are."

"I'm Summer, what's your name?" she asked overly enthusiastically.

"Dawn…" Dawn replied.

"Funny…I think I've heard that name before," Summer commented.

"Well, I've been in many contests, so maybe you might've heard of me," Dawn said.

"You're a coordinator?"

"Yeah," Dawn replied sheepishly.

"I know this sorta seems out of the blue, but do you know a trainer named Paul?" Summer asked.

"Unfortunately, he's one of the biggest jerks you could ever meet," Dawn answered.

"Yet, you're traveling with him," Summer countered.

"Not that it's any of your business, but yeah I am, so?"

"So why travel with someone you supposedly hate so much, unless you liked him?" Summer angrily asked.

Dawn blushed furiously before replying, "There is no way anyone could like such an egotistic jerk like him!"

"Whatever, just stay away from him," Summer said.

"And what if I don't?" Dawn asked testing her.

"You were warned," Summer said walking away.

"What a stuck up snob," Dawn commented.

She wasn't in such a very good mood to shop anymore, so Dawn decided to head back to Pokemon Center. On her way back, she came across Paul standing there, as if he were waiting on someone.

"Took you long enough," he commented.

"And a hello to you too," Dawn replied.

"Whatever. Mind coming with me real quick?" Paul asked walking.

"Sure, whatever," Dawn answered as she followed him.

The two ended up in a park, and sat on a bench. Dawn looked over to Paul, and waited for him to say something, he didn't.

They sat there for a while before Paul finally said, "I've been thinking…"

'He thinks?' Dawn thought.

"About what you said earlier on," he said with a slight blush.

"What about what I said earlier on?" Dawn inquired, not noticing the blush.

"About contests," Paul stopped short again.

"Yeah," Dawn said a bit impatient.

"I guess it wouldn't kill me to actually take a look at one of your contests. I might actually learn something new," Paul said honestly.

Dawn was quite shocked for a moment debating, in her mind, whether or not it was ok to believe what Paul is saying.

"Thank you!" she said all of a sudden hugging him with a slight blush on her face which caused Paul to blush as well.

"Did you hear something?" Paul asked randomly with Dawn's arms still around him.

"Umm, no," Dawn answered confused with the arbitrary question Paul had asked.

~In the distance, in two thick bushes~

"Sorry, Tira! I didn't mean to," Summer apologized as Tira rubbed her head sorely.

"Whatever! Look, I know you like Paul and all, that's great, but that does not call for you pulling my hair out of its roots!" Tira yelled at her.

"A million times sorry! I really am starting to hate that girl!" Summer said as she glared back at the two.

"So, why the sudden change of heart?" Dawn asked teasingly.

"I'll answer that as soon as you tell me why your face is so close to mine," Paul asked nonchalantly.

Dawn froze. He was right; their faces were about an inch from each other. Dawn blushed a deep red, as their eyes met. Paul blushed too, before getting up swiftly.

"I'm going to get something to drink," he said all of a sudden and left.

Dawn watched as he left, disappointed. Realizing her reaction, Dawn shook her head disapprovingly.

"Why am I getting all disappointed for?" Dawn asked herself. "It's not like we were going to—"

"Going to do what?" Summer angrily asked suddenly appearing before Dawn.

"None of your business!" Dawn responded blushing slightly.

"Look, I don't care if you suddenly have feelings for Paul now, but I told you to stay away from him!" Summer shouted at her.

"I don't have sudden feelings for the guy!" Dawn denied standing up in front of Summer. "Even so, why should I have to stay away from him? You don't own him!" Dawn argued.

Summer pushed her down before replying, "I don't have to!"

"I won't let you take Paul away from me!" Summer shouted about slap Dawn.

Dawn couldn't avoid it, and waited for the inevitable. She didn't feel anything, she open her eyes. Right there in front of her was Paul blocking Summer's hand.

"I leave for five minutes, and you're already in a catfight," Paul commented.

"She's the one with the problem," Dawn defended.

"Summer, you just love causing trouble wherever you go, don't you?" Paul asked her sarcastically.

"You know her?" Dawn asked surprised as Summer angrily pulled her hand out of Paul's grip.

"Unfortunately," Paul answered before turning his attention back to Summer. "Why were you about to hit Dawn?"

Summer didn't answer. She just stared angrily at the ground.

"Answer me!" Paul demanded.

"She can't have you!" Summer shouted.

"Not this again," he sighed angrily.

"Not what again?" Dawn asked confused. "I'm lost."

"Why you can't have him!" Summer started to explain as Paul looked the other way. "It happened when I was suddenly visiting Veilstone City one day. I just happened to be there when Paul had his battle with the Gym Leader Maylene. Although, it was an easy win, his pokemon were brilliant. Plus, I've seen a couple of his trainer battles. I fell in love instantaneously. From then on, I watched all of his battles, and became his number one fan, Of course, one fateful day, I confessed my feelings to him, and he flat out rejected me. I thought maybe, he didn't like me or he already had a girlfriend, but it turns out that he's mean like that to everyone. Even so, my feelings for him never wavered."

Summer then turned to Dawn.

"That's where you come in! Why is it that he's nice to you? He was never nice to me or any other girl he's ever come in contact with. I can't stand it! I won't accept you. Nothing will ever make me!" Summer shouted at Dawn.

"Ok, how about this?" Paul asked.

He helped Dawn up on her feet, and then suddenly pulled her into a kiss.

Pulling away, he asked. "Are you heartbroken yet?"

Tears fell from Summer's face, when she replied, "You can have him. Who'd want to be with such a cruel, insensitive jerk like him anyways."

Summer wiped her eyes before walking off. Dawn glared at Paul.

"What?" Paul questioned her.

"That was the cruelest thing you've done yet!" she shouted at him.

"So," Paul replied harshly. "You should know me by now."

He turned to leave, but Dawn pulled him back.

"What? There's more?" Paul asked irritably.

"It's about what you did earlier…"Dawn trailed off.

Paul thought for a minute, and a slight blush came up.

'Oh, that,' he thought. "That was nothing," he told her. "Just forget it happened," he said bitterly walking away.

Dawn ran in front of him and shouted, "No! I can't forget it happened. It's like Summer said. I do suddenly have feelings for you."

Paul stared at her astonished. For one he was happy, but then he couldn't express it. It was awkward now. Paul couldn't deal with awkwardness, it's wasn't his thing. So, like he normally treated such situations, he just walked away. Dawn expected just as much and silently followed him. They made their way back to the Pokemon Center. Upon entering, Pikachu ran forward a greeted Dawn with much enthusiasm.

"Hey, Pikachu. What's got you so happy?" she asked.

Just then she received her answer.

"Dawn!" a voice called out.

"Ash?! Brock?! You guys are here!"

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**Ch. 4 will take a while, but be sure to look forward to it! Oh yeah, and before I forget, Review!!!**


	4. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

**Hey guys, I'm really sorry for the very very long gap in updates...in fact it's been a couple months since I last updated...I wish I could promise you faster updates, but it's kinda hard now, considering I've just started college and is trying my best to adapt well...**

**A/N: Now that DP series is over in Japan (Nearing its end in America) my views of some of the characters have drastically changed, but I will still try my best to keep close to what I had in mind for it in the previous months...well, as always, Enjoy! and Please review, who knows, that may just inspire me again... :D **

**Disclaimer: Pokemon is nowhere near mine, unfortunately... :(**

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**Chapter 4****: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow  
**

"Hey, guys," Dawn said.

Dawn didn't know whether to feel glad or even more depressed. She still hadn't settled things with Paul, for all she knew Ash and Brock being here could add more fuel to the fire.

"What's wrong? It's like you're not happy to see us," Ash said worriedly.

'Well, you're not far from the truth,' Dawn thought.

At that moment, Paul returned Electabuzz and left the room annoyed, brushing past everyone.

"Geez, what's his problem?" Ash commented. "Boy, am I glad I wasn't the one stuck with him."

"Maybe if you did, you would learn understand people a bit better! You're so obnoxious Ash!" Dawn snapped before leaving the two.

"What's up with Dawn?" Ash asked bewildered. "Why is she sticking up for Paul all of a sudden?"

"Hmm," Brock pondered inquisitively. "Something must've happened in our absence."

Dawn had gone back to the room and spotted Paul packing up his things.

"You're leaving?" Dawn asked surprised.

"Well, there's no reason for me to stay," Paul said with his usual anger-filled facial expression. "I have Electabuzz, so yeah."

"Oh, I just thought you would've stayed longer," Dawn said twirling her hair, disappointed.

Paul smirked.

"Oh, really? Why?" Paul asked skeptically.

"Are you really going to make me say it?" Dawn asked somewhat bashfully.

"Maybe," Paul replied."But seriously though, I've wasted enough time here, Ash showing up is proof of that."

"Maybe I could come with you?" Dawn nonchalantly suggested.

Paul gave her a look before saying, "You don't want to come with me, and you're not coming with me."

"And why not?" Dawn pouted.

"You're gonna slow me down. Besides, won't your friends worry?"

"Yeah, probably."

"All the more reason you shouldn't come with me."

"They'll be fine, I mean we would have to split up sometime anyway. Why not sooner?"

"Dawn, look. I know we're both kinda new to this, but we shouldn't rush things."

"It really meant a lot to me when you said you'd see one of my contests," Dawn said sincerely.

"Your point being?..." Paul asked indifferently.

"I don't want you to leave me," Dawn blushed. "I want to spend more time with you!"

Paul blushed while turning his face to the side and said, "Do whatever you want. After Nurse Joy is done checking up on my pokemon, I'm leaving. With or without you."

"Yess!" Dawn said energetically.

She sped out of the room without a second thought. As she walked back into the main Pokemon Center lobby, Dawn tried thinking out many different scenarios in which she could possibly tell Ash and Brock, that she'd be leaving them to travel with Paul, even if it was for a little while. She sighed.

'Brock might be easier to convince, but Ash is definitely the stubborn type,' Dawn thought to herself.

"Hey, Dawn!" Ash shouted out. "Over here!"

Ash was signaling her from a cozy living room type area of the Pokemon Center. Dawn went over to where Brock and Ash were, and sat down in one of the chairs.

"Dawn, what's been going on with you?" Ash asked immediately.

Ignoring Ash's first question due to her nervousness, Dawn said, "There's something I need to tell you guys."

Brock raised an eyebrow before saying, "Sure, tell us what's up."

Dawn blushed before blurting out, "It'salongstorybutI'mleavingwithPaul!"

"Huh? I didn't catch that. Something about Paul?" Ash asked.

"I think I understand, but go on," Brock said smirking.

"It was hard enough to say the first time," Dawn complained.

She sighed.

"It's long story. But I'm going to be leaving along with Paul," Dawn confessed shifting her gaze away from her friends.

"Say what?" Ash exclaimed obviously disturbed by Dawn's news. "Why are you leaving us, and with Paul of all people?"

"Well, over the past few days that we've been together, I got to know him a bit more and now I just find myself wanting to know more about him," Dawn told them truthfully still blushing a deep red.

"It's your decision, if you feel you have to go, then go," Brock said maturely.

"Thanks, Brock," Dawn commented.

"Are you sure about this, Dawn?" Ash inquired.

"I don't know myself, but it's something I want to do," she answered.

"If you say so," Ash replied.

"I guess this is good bye then?" Brock asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Dawn responded.

"Well, we'll still see you at the Sinnoh League, right?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, sure," Dawn said. "Bye, guys."

"We'll see you later Dawn," Brock replied.

Dawn left the two to go pack the rest of her things.

"I can't believe it, she's actually leaving us to go with Paul. What's wrong with the world?" Ash said disbelievingly.

"You actually haven't figured it out?" Brock asked astounded.

"No, why?" Ash responded.

"It's nothing." Brock commented. 'Man, Misty must've had it tough, with such a dense guy like Ash...' he thought to himself.

Dawn had returned to her room. It felt like the weights were lifted off her shoulders, but then they quickly chained themselves to her heart. With the thought of leaving her friends in mind, she felt an unbearable amount of guilt. Only days ago she was sure Paul was the scum of the earth. But the preceding events convinced her that their was another side to Paul rather then his usual bitter demeanor. Was it worth leaving her friends over? What if it didn't work out between them? Dawn shook her head.

"I shouldn't be regretting it now, what's done is done," Dawn concluded.

She then proceeded to packing up the rest of her things.

"Piplup?" her Piplup inquired worriedly.

"I'm fine Piplup, no need to worry," Dawn with a smile.

The sun had began to set and Paul had become impatient.

'Where is she?' he thought to himself.

At that moment, Dawn came rushing out of the Pokemon Center. She spotted Paul and ran over to him.

"You waited! Thank you!" Dawn exclaimed cheerfully.

"If I knew you were gonna be this slow, I should've left you," Paul said.

Dawn stuck her tongue out.

"But you didn't," she said. "Now you're stuck with me."

Paul had already started walking ahead of her.

"Hey! Wait up!" Dawn said running after him.

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**That's it for now! ^_^ Stay tuned for the next chapter, and as always, REVIEW!**

**Chapter 5: Dee Dee**

**All I will say is that someone's gonna get a little jealous! :D  
**


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